


venus

by krucxa



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Familiars, Idiots in Love, M/M, Magical Realism, Mutual Pining, Polyamory, Unreliable Narrator, Witches, rated T only for some swears
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:55:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27961883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krucxa/pseuds/krucxa
Summary: As much as Hyunjae likes to pretend that his feelings for Sangyeon are gone by now, the unfortunate reality remains. He fell for a witch. It's hard to tell who's more unlucky; Hyunjae, or the witch in question, for having to put up with him.
Relationships: Lee Jaehyun | Hyunjae/Lee Juyeon/Lee Sangyeon
Comments: 5
Kudos: 27





	venus

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! back to the sangjumil tag i go!!   
>  as juyeon is a familiar in this fic i switch between he/him and it/its pronouns for him, i hope that's not very confusing!   
>  anyway, i hope that you'll like this!!

Hyunjae stands in front of a door. He does so because he's embarrassed to come in, though he's also aware that it's not one of his best ideas as the door in question has a window that does nothing to hide him from view. Anyone inside can easily see him, but still, he stubbornly stays in place and wills his blush to cool down enough for him to actually enter without getting made fun of.

It doesn't really matter in the end, as he still manages to attract unwanted attention. Glass, unfortunately, is of a see-through nature. He's reminded of that fact when he glares inside.

He can see Jacob hovering by the counter, staring right back at him with a mildly concerned expression. The witch turns his head without breaking eye contact and clearly says something to a person out of Hyunjae's sight; he doesn't have to actually hear Jacob's words to realize what question just left his mouth.

_Is he okay?_

Frankly, he is not. He's only a second away from booking it and never showing up at this particular potion store ever again. But he's made a promise to Sangyeon that he'd help out at the shop and he can't back out anymore.

Now, the wording Sangyeon used wasn't exactly that. He didn't ask Hyunjae to work for him, no. He'd asked Hyunjae to keep an eye on his cat.

As if Hyunjae couldn't feel any more useless.

Also, to get things straight: the cat, meaning, Sangyeon's familiar. Hyunjae found that out the hard way, as their first meeting was quite embarrassing for him.

So, not exactly a cat, per se, more like a shapeshifting being that wields more magical energy than any witch, mage or warlock could ever hope for; or at least, that's what he's heard. Hyunjae isn't really an expert on that kind of stuff, considering the fact that he's very much human, and also not really interested in magic.

That's right. Some of his human friends would probably fight him at a McDonald's parking lot for an opportunity to witness some stupid magic tricks themselves; meanwhile Hyunjae would rather book a plane to a different country to avoid being a babysitter. Cat-sitter. Familiar-sitter. Either or.

So, one could say that Hyunjae anywhere near a potion store is an unusual sight. Not as unusual when one considers the fact that it belongs to Sangyeon, of all people, but this isn't the right time to open that can of worms and besides, the point still stands. He doesn't like it here.

But alas, he heaves out a sigh and pushes the door open. The action is followed by the chirp of a bell, one that Sangyeon had hung above the door apparently for two reasons. One, being, ' _it's got more character this way!_ ' and the second… something about cleansing the space with a bell's ring, or whatever, Hyunjae didn't bother listening past that point.

The moment he steps inside, he's engulfed by the comfortable warmth—of course Sangyeon or Jacob would charm the space inside the building to feel like the perfect temperature. Of course. Hyunjae hadn't actually ventured inside before, but he should have expected it.

As much as he wrinkles his nose at the obvious flaunting of pure magic, he doesn't comment on it. Instead, he continues to walk ahead, making a beeline for the counter, behind which Jacob stands with his hands planted firmly on his hips. The witch doesn't stop looking at him in a concerned manner, but at least he doesn't say anything to his face.

Or, to be frank, he doesn't do so at first. Then, Jacob parts his lips and instead of a greeting, he states as delicately as possible, "you look like death."

Leaning into the counter, Hyunjae ignores the way it digs into his stomach to smile sweetly right back at Jacob, "why, thank you," then he pauses, glancing behind the other, "where's Sangyeon?"

"In the back," comes the reply, "in fact, you've just missed him."

Frowning, Hyunjae thinks back to the literal minutes he's spent moping in front of the door. Surely, Sangyeon must have noticed him back then, and yet he still left? Just like that?

The disbelief must show on his face because Jacob poorly hides a smile before adding in, "he told me that you'll enter eventually so there's no point in waiting. That, and he's busy. You know, paperwork."

Hyunjae could gasp, turn up his dramatics a little just for the sake of it, but he's not in the mood to do so. That's why, instead, he simply rolls his eyes and speaks louder, hopefully loud enough that Sangyeon would overhear, "rude much?"

Jacob just shrugs.

There's a gust of wind, ruffling up Hyunjae's perfectly styled hair; he's sure that it has to be somehow related to Sangyeon, given the fact that all the windows of the store are closed, and the blow had felt too annoyingly cold to be natural.

Jacob sends him an amused look when Hyunjae raises a hand, fixing it as best as he can. He'd spent too much time on it to be ruined just like that, but alas, his attempts at getting his hair to look decent again fail miserably. That's it. He's going to throttle Sangyeon.

Pushing himself off the counter, he rolls up the sleeves of his jumper and only waits a moment for Jacob to nod at him in parting before he scurries off. Even though he hasn't visited the store before, he can easily guess Sangyeon's location when the man in question didn't even bother to close the door after himself. So, he was expecting Hyunjae to barge in anyway; which is fair, yeah, but Hyunjae feels like he has the right to frown at the realization.

He strides in, stopping only right behind Sangyeon, who's perched on a cushion before a desk. That would be a totally normal sight, if only the cushion in question wasn't levitating. Hyunjae squints.

Pausing, he takes a second to simply observe Sangyeon; it's something like a habit of his, at this point. He isn't even sure why, but he's used to spending way too much time and attention on the other.

They've known each other for a year now; for the first half of it, Hyunjae wasn't even aware of Sangyeon's, well, magical predicament. Perhaps that's why they've gotten so close in the first place, given the fact that Hyunjae isn't a big fan of witches, or anything magical to begin with. It's nothing personal; he just doesn't find it as interesting as most people do.

He likes his life as simple as it is, with no weird complications. Some people out there have to deal with pixies, with stubborn warlocks or nymphs. Hyunjae, on the other hand, gets to stay at home and doesn't have to worry about such matters. Or at least, he used to, before this whole friendship… _thing_ of his, with Sangyeon, started.

Now, he's one of those people. That is, the ones that have first hand experience with magic. And he doesn't like that.

"Where's your damn cat, Sangyeon?" he prompts, straight to the point. He's aware that the other lives on the second floor of the building, as the store in question isn't a very big nor obscenely successful one, but he isn't sure whether the familiar would rather laze around down here or in Sangyeon's actual home upstairs.

"Careful, he might get offended if he hears you speak like that," the other answers easily, not raising his gaze from the papers he's hunched over. Hyunjae makes a face, then pokes Sangyeon in the shoulder.

That finally seems to actually get his attention, and he looks up, giving Hyunjae one of these weird looks. He's been doing that a lot lately, to Hyunjae's annoyance; he can't quite tell what the emotion in Sangyeon's eyes is, even if he tries. It's not that Sangyeon's hiding it, no, he does so openly, it's just that Hyunjae doesn't understand it.

"He's upstairs," Sangyeon says, finally being somewhat helpful, "last time I checked, he was still sleeping on my bed."

Hyunjae hums, making a mental note, before his eyebrows furrow and he chimes in, "wait, why do you need me to keep an eye on him if he's a cat? Won't he just, like, sleep all day?"

This time, there's no denying that Sangyeon looks amused. He brings a hand up, almost hiding the small upturn of his lips, and then he replies, "oh, I wish. Cats are more energetic than you think, though. Especially if they're, you know," he pauses, giving Hyunjae another one of these unreadable looks, "not actual cats, but familiars."

Hyunjae waves his hand at that, "yeah, right. No need to remind me."

He doesn't miss Sangyeon's whisper of _sure there isn't_ , but he pretends he doesn't hear it as he takes a couple steps to the side, heading towards a spiral staircase—one that's more vine than actual wood. The vines twist around the handrail in such a way that Hyunjae's actually, partly afraid to touch it, and he sends a pleading glance over his shoulder.

All Sangyeon does in response is raise a single eyebrow. If they weren't as close as they are, Hyunjae would have scowled at him. But since it's Sangyeon, he doesn't even do anything in reply, just turns around and takes the first temptative step. He partly expects one of the vines to snap at him, but the plant stays in place, so he continues on his way up as fast as he can, and ignores Sangyeon's quite obvious laugh.

If the sound makes him feel a couple conflicting emotions at once, then no one besides him needs to know.

🌙

It isn't until he's making his way through the corridor, looking for Sangyeon's bedroom, that he realizes it—this is the first time that he's actually stepped inside Sangyeon's house.

A good few months ago, maybe he would have been overjoyed at the thought, back when he still wasn't aware of Sangyeon's nature. Now, though, everywhere he looks is so obnoxiously _magical_ —well, obnoxious to him. He may be a little biased—either way, it's making him feel a bit uncomfortable.

When he reaches out to graze his fingers against a vase, simply to appreciate the beauty of it, a couple of sparks fly up at the contact, and he startles enough to take a few steps back. So, rule number one of visiting a witch would probably be: don't touch anything. Hyunjae makes a mental note and keeps his distance from this point on.

The second door to his right isn't completely closed, and he can see the sliver of light that drips into the room. Assuming that it must be Sangyeon's bedroom, Hyunjae takes a peek inside, but it's not like he can see anything due to how dark it is inside.

So, he pushes the door open, and blindly paws at the wall to turn the light on. He succeeds, after a good moment of struggling to find it.

One thing he notes as he looks around the room is that it's… surprisingly neat. He isn't even sure what he expected from a witch. A mess of plants and jars? Candles on every free surface? Ancient scrolls lined up on a bookshelf? Well, it's certainly not that; not to say that Hyunjae feels the absence of magic, as that would be an obvious lie, though the room is way cleaner than he expected it to be.

And in the corner, smack dab in the middle of a queen sized bed, lies a black ball of fur. Ball of fur, being, Sangyeon's familiar; in his feline form. Hyunjae considers the cat quietly for a minute, before he finally walks up to the bed.

Kneeling on the mattress to get even closer, he studies the familiar for a few more seconds; Juyeon, as Sangyeon called him, looks like any other cat. It's almost underwhelming in its normalcy, but Hyunjae probably shouldn't have expected much, not when he himself doesn't really care about magic to begin with.

So he squints at Juyeon, reaches out and pokes him in the nose.

The familiar wakes up slowly; Juyeon stretches his front legs before finally opening his eyes, immediately meeting Hyunjae's gaze. Almost as if he was expecting Hyunjae. Though, given the circumstances, perhaps he was. He wouldn't be surprised if Sangyeon mentioned Hyunjae's new babysitting role to the familiar.

For a moment, Hyunjae doesn't know what to do. Eventually, he sets on saying, "hi," and it feels so fucking stupid of him to speak to a pet, as he's not used to having one, but then, Juyeon isn't exactly a cat, "my name's Hyunjae, though I guess you already know that."

The familiar doesn't respond, spare for one, slow blink. It stares up at Hyunjae in a rather lazy manner and the fact doesn't really sit right with him.

"So you won't talk with me. Noted," he murmurs, gaining the tiniest nod from the familiar. The action alone is enough for him to feel offended, so he gives the cat a tight-lipped smile and adds, "I think we'll get along just fine," which is obviously a poorly distinguished lie but the familiar blinks at him again, as if agreeing. Lord. This is going to be a long day.

🌙

Hyunjae was right. The day stubbornly drags on, and Hyunjae can check the time all he wants, because it still moves way too slowly for his liking. It's been three agonizing hours of looking after the familiar and frankly, Hyunjae is already so damn tired.

One would think that taking care of a cat wouldn't be too exhausting. Alas, a kitten is probably nothing compared to this odd _being_ that Hyunjae has to keep an eye on. He'd spent the last twenty minutes frantically searching for Juyeon after the familiar mysteriously disappeared, and only now did he find the escapee.

Perhaps it's a good thing that Sangyeon chose this moment to take a break and venture upstairs, leaving the potion store in Jacob's trusty hands. This way, at least, his presence remains a reminder for Hyunjae to stay cool. Somewhat.

"Sangyeon, your cat is fucking staring at me. Again."

Indeed, the familiar sits high up on the fridge as it observes Hyunjae. He never even imagined that cats could pull a face, but the way it's looking at him feels almost smug. It annoys Hyunjae to no end.

He isn't even sure how Juyeon got all the way up there in the first place. As far as he's aware, there's no way a cat could jump that high, and there's nothing around to help him climb up. Though, considering the fact that Juyeon isn't actually what he seems to be, maybe Hyunjae shouldn't be so surprised that he can achieve seemingly impossible things.

"He's not a cat," comes the unbothered reply from the tiny living room.

Hyunjae squints, murmurs a, "yeah, yeah, whatever," and continues to glare back at the familiar. There's an amused glint in the cat's eyes, as if Hyunjae is acting ridiculous. He's not. Craning his neck up and shaking his fist at the little furball is an absolutely reasonable thing to do. Hyunjae stands by his point.

Maybe if he swiped at the fridge with a broom then the stupid cat would get off, and finally, would gracefully fall into Hyunjae's waiting arms. Unfortunately, he doesn't think that Sangyeon would appreciate him doing such things to catch Juyeon so he remains in place, glaring daggers into the familiar until it seems to take pity on him; Juyeon licks at his paw, which is a weirdly elegant sight, before jumping off the fridge and landing right on Hyunjae's shoulder.

He almost loses his footing due to the impact, but somehow he manages to stay upright, wincing as Juyeon rubs his head against Hyunjae's jaw. It's probably meant to be affectionate, but Hyunjae is still very much grumpy so he ignores that as best as he can and doesn't say anything when Juyeon decides to lie in Hyunjae's embrace instead.

He never held a cat in his arms before, though he's sure it wouldn't feel as… weird, as it is with Juyeon. He can't even pinpoint what, exactly, feels off about the familiar, and he has to admit that the visual of Juyeon resting in his arms is an objectively adorable one, though… it still doesn't feel right. Or maybe he just doesn't want it to.

Not much time passes before Sangyeon saunters into the room, two worn out scrolls in hand. A cup of ice coffee follows right after him, levitating just a tad above his silhouette and if Hyunjae squints, he can perhaps make out a sigil shining on his wrist. One that may or may not be related to the levitating cup. Hyunjae wouldn't know. And, frankly, he doesn't care about it enough to ask.

"What's that?" he ends up saying instead, nodding towards the scrolls.

Sangyeon doesn't even spare them a glance before replying, "a special commission from Chanhee. Changmin had been hexed and he's physically unable to fall asleep. Poor boy hadn't slept in four days, they need a potion to reverse the hex," with that, he takes a moment to catch his coffee and takes a few sips, before letting it fly up again, "that's where the scrolls come in. I haven't brewed anything like this in a while, so I don't exactly remember the ingredients."

Hyunjae nods, taking the information in. He doesn't know Changmin, though he does recognize Chanhee's name, as Sangeon had mentioned him a couple of times before. Either he's a regular customer or a friend.

Despite Hyunjae's usual dislike towards witches, mages, and anything magical like that, he really hopes that Sangyeon will succeed at making this particular potion. Purely because he's aware of how annoying the lack of rest can be, that's all.

"So… you aren't _really_ taking a break right now, are you?" Hyunjae prods, pretty sure that he's connected the dots. Sangyeon doesn't meet his gaze, though his shoulders tense the slightest bit, which is a confirmation enough.

"No," the witch admits, sounding almost guilty, "no breaks until I get this potion right."

Hyunjae clicks his tongue.

"Man, I know that you're a workaholic and all, but some rest wouldn't hurt you every now and then," he mutters and feels Juyeon move in his hold. Glancing down, he notices the familiar staring right at Sangyeon. The look is… surprisingly accusatory.

So, Juyeon agrees. Sangyeon should take a break. That's two against one. Maybe they actually can get along sometimes, given the current situation.

The witch ignores that, though. He waves his hand dismissively, before placing the scrolls on the kitchen table, immediately getting lost in them. As Hyunjae glances over Sangyeon's shoulder, he notes that he couldn't read them even if he tried. He can't even figure out what language they're written in—if it's even a human language to begin with. Hyunjae digresses.

While studying the text, Sangyeon's shoulder sag, "I know, I know, you've always nagged me about taking a rest, but this is serious. They need that potion, I can't let them wait too long," he murmurs, barely paying attention to the fact that Juyeon jumps out of Hyunjae's arms onto the table, gazing at the scroll curiously, "I'll finish this and I swear I will take a break, alright?"

Hyunjae mulls it over for a few long seconds. Truth is, as much as he doesn't like it, Sangyeon has a point. Changmin needs to rest, too. So Sangyeon has to pour even more energy into work this time.

Hyunjae lets out a sigh, "okay. But go take a nap after that. I mean it."

The sound that Sangyeon huffs out isn't quite a chuckle, but it's close to being one, "I will."

As much as Hyunjae likes to pretend that his feelings for Sangyeon are gone by now, the unfortunate reality remains. He fell for a witch. It's hard to tell who's more unlucky; Hyunjae, or the witch in question, for having to put up with him.

🌙

The thing is, Hyunjae remembers the day he first met Juyeon all too well. After all, it was also the day that the truth about Sangyeon was revealed to him.

Until then, he would have gone as far as to say that Sangyeon and him were getting along surprisingly well. Hyunjae wasn't very subtle with his flirting back then, and Sangyeon didn't seem to mind it much, so he'd counted it as a win. They would go out for coffee together, share Spotify playlists with each other, and meet up at a library or a teahouse while using simple excuses just to see the other. All in all, things were fine. Perhaps, he would have even described those few months as one of his favorite memories so far.

And it was after one of these non-dates that he was walking Sangyeon home that the other let the cat out of the bag.

See, metaphorically and _almost_ literally. If Juyeon had actually been sitting in Sangyeon's bag, then maybe the situation would have been more hilarious.

Unfortunately, though, the familiar was waiting for Sangyeon in the middle of the sidewalk and the moment Hyunjae noticed him he couldn't stop himself from cooing at the sight of a kitten.

So, yeah, in hindsight, his reaction was a little embarrassing. He'd sprinted over to the cat, squatting and letting the pet sniff at his hand before scratching behind its ears, murmuring smitten compliments while he did so, and it took him a while to notice that Sangyeon didn't join him.

Pausing, much to the kitten's displeasure, he'd glanced back at Sangyeon, his heart nearly jumping out of his chest when he noticed the other already staring back at him. There was something almost fond about the way he was gazing at Hyunjae, though it quickly turned into embarrassment as he… met the eyes of the cat. For whatever reason.

"Juyeon, what are you doing here?" he said, actually directing a question at the little furball, to Hyunjae's growing confusion. What threw him off even more, was the fact that the cat meowed, seemingly in reply.

Sangyeon's shoulders shook lightly with laughter. Usually, Hyunjae would cherish such a sight, but then Sangyeon snapped his gaze towards him and added in, tone completely serious, "he says he likes you."

For a moment, Hyunjae just stared blankly at the other.

What a weird thing to say, he had thought. But then, since it was Sangyeon, he couldn't bring himself to judge the man too much. He'd sniffed, finally continuing to pet the cat, and he didn't even get to ponder over a possible response before his mouth was already moving, "yeah, as he should."

At least those words brought a chuckle out of Sangyeon. That was good. Great, even. He quite likes the sound.

"Careful, or he's gonna leave me for your good quality pets," Sangyeon murmured while staring at the cat with a small smile, before meeting Hyunjae's gaze again, "you don't want to be known as a familiar thief, do you?"

Hyunjae's hand froze.

Though, to him it felt as if the whole world did.

"What?"

Sangyeon's smile didn't waver, though he did notice the slightest amount of anxiety in the man's eyes when he replied with, "I'm a witch, Hyunjae."

A witch.

His friend, and what's more, his _crush_ , of a good half of the year is a witch. There's an aspect to his life that Hyunjae may never be exposed to, the two of them coming from entirely different worlds. There's no way to even compare their experiences, as the boring life of a human is nothing like that of a witch's.

It's a bit disappointing, the fact that Sangyeon felt the need to hide the truth from him for so long, but at the same time, perhaps he was right in doing that. Perhaps, if Hyunjae had known from the very beginning, he wouldn't have let Sangyeon into his life as easily as he did. And yet, here they are. Friends that vaguely flirt with each other but never outright say anything.

Oh, lord. All this time, Hyunjae had been flirting with a witch. Despite the fact that by now, he knew that Sangyeon is too nice to treat Hyunjae like he's inferior to him, he still has the advantage of magic on his side. Hyunjae, on the other hand, is defenseless.

Defenseless to Sangyeon's charms, in both meanings of the word.

He parted his lips to reply, but belatedly realized that he didn't know what to say. What is the socially acceptable response in such a situation? All that Hyunjae could think of was a painfully casual _oh, cool_ that would be coincidentally the last words before he'd start avoiding Sangyeon, but that would be the rude thing to do, wouldn't it? Despite Sangyeon's nature, and the fact that Hyunjae couldn't care less about magical matters, he finds that he can't quite act mean when it comes to the other.

Perhaps it's the lingering crush he'd had on Sangyeon up until then, but he digresses.

Clearing his throat, he pointed towards the cat—Juyeon, Sangyeon had called him, he reminded himself—and managed to say, "so, this is your…" before he drifted off as realization settled in.

Wincing, he straightened up and took a few steps back from Juyeon. Juyeon, who is apparently not a cat, who presumably perfectly understood what Hyunjae was saying, whom Hyunjae had literally just _pet_ while _cooing_ like a _fool_.

He could feel his cheeks burn.

"Fuck, this is embarrassing," he murmured, earning himself a confused glance from Sangyeon, one that he tried very hard to ignore. He covered his face with his hands and at least had enough self-control not to groan, "okay, this whole thing is… unexpected. But, uh, good for you."

This, at least, seemed to amuse the witch. Hyunjae couldn't actually see him at the moment, but he could tell just by the tone of his voice, "oh, it absolutely is. Magic is quite convenient, for your information."

Hyunjae wondered briefly what he ever did to deserve this. The fact that Sangyeon, of all people, would turn out… a witch. It's a whole world that even as a kid, Hyunjae had sworn he would have avoided like the plague, and yet, he had acquired feelings for a _witch_. The universe must have been laughing at him.

"I," he paused, trying to think of the most polite way to excuse himself, "I'm gonna head back now, if you don't mind. Seems like I don't need to accompany you anymore," with that, he pointed towards the familiar, the damn being that pretends to be a cat for whatever reason, and Juyeon can't possibly pull any faces but it sure felt like he's smirking at Hyunjae.

Fortunately, Sangyeon just shrugged, "it's okay, we're almost by my house anyway."

"Yeah," Hyunjae added, like an idiot, while slowly backing away. Immediately, he winced, cursing his brain for not working correctly under shock, and he made some vague gesture that hopefully certified as a wave before he turned around and quite literally booked it.

Lord.

He's never going to live this one down.

🌙

But back to the situation at hand; Hyunjae is still, much to his growing exhaustion, at Sangyeon's home. Still taking care of the damn familiar. It's only his first day, yet he's already ready to tap out.

Perhaps he can see why Sangyeon needed the help in the first place; he wouldn't have trusted Juyeon to spend too much time by himself either.

Maybe it's just Hyunjae's presence that makes Juyeon want to break havoc; maybe he can sense that Hyunjae really doesn't want to be here so he's sworn to make the human's day even worse. Whatever the reason may be, Hyunjae just hopes that the pathetically pleading looks he's been sending the cat will work out soon.

It doesn't help that every now and then, as he crouches and waits for Juyeon to willingly come to him, he can hear questionable thuds from one of the rooms and see flashes of light slipping through the gap under the door. Once, the light is purple tinted, then two minutes later it's cerulean. Hyunjae is beginning to feel concerned.

He hadn't been to the room before; the door was closed when he'd ventured to the second floor, and he thought better of peeking inside. He'd watched Sangyeon enter it twenty minutes ago, though, and even while he'd been busy chasing Juyeon around, he still kept an eye out for anything weird.

Sangyeon's brewing the potion, the special commission, that thing he's sure of. He just didn't expect the process to be so… flashy. Literally.

He almost jumps out of his skin when he hears something that could only be called a small explosion and a puff of golden smoke spills into the corridor. Perhaps he's getting worried for nothing, though, as Juyeon doesn't seem all that bothered; one of his ears flicks towards the noise, but other than that, he doesn't even react, sitting on the opposite end of the corridor and blinking slowly at Hyunjae.

This seems like the perfect time to pounce and catch the cat in question. Key word: seems. The thing is, Hyunjae isn't dumb, he learns from his mistakes. He's aware now that if he were to try that, Juyeon would simply teleport and Hyunjae would have fell face first on the ground.

So, instead, he continues to crouch, extending his hand towards the familiar and giving him the mastered _kicked puppy_ look. It's that type of look that only ever works once on others, and his human friends are already well immune to it, but maybe, just maybe, it could work this time. He just has to pout his lips just so, and… yes, that's it, Juyeon's finally moving towards him!

He does so slowly, either not trusting Hyunjae fully or just taking his sweet time for the sake of it. Either way, Hyunjae will be patient. This time.

Just as Juyeon stops right in front of him, lightly sniffing his fingers before turning his head to the side to let Hyunjae pet him, the door bursts open.

A few things happen at once.

One, Hyunjae yells. Loudly. Because that's just in his nature. He leaps back, clutching at his chest, and snaps his gaze towards the open door.

Two, Sangyeon stands in the doorway in question, full vial in hand and a grin on his lips that could blind any unfortunate onlookers. For a split second, he basks in the pride of, supposedly, successfully making the cure to a nasty hex. But then, he notices Hyunjae glaring daggers into him and at least has the decency to look apologetic.

Three, Juyeon's ears droop, probably at the lost opportunity of pets, and he meows up at Sangyeon. If Hyunjae didn't know better, he would have described the sound as mildly annoyed.

"Sorry, sorry," Sangyeon says, sheepishly rubbing at the back of his neck. He glances down at the ground, at Juyeon, then at Hyunjae again, and adds, "but I'm finally done, see? Now I just have to send this to Chanhee, and we'll be done for the day."

As happy as he is to hear the words (he's been _dying_ to come back home, he has to admit), Hyunjae quirks up an eyebrow at the last part. He clears his throat, oblivious to the fact that he's still very much sprawled over the floor, before quipping with, "weren't you supposed to take a break right after being done with the potion?"

"Yes, yes," Sangyeon murmurs distractedly, already making his way towards the staircase and stepping over a very unimpressed familiar, "just one more thing and I'll call it a day."

Hyunjae doesn't believe him. He glances at Juyeon. The cat stares right back at him. Neither of them look too convinced.

🌙

It takes some work, but eventually, Juyeon falls asleep. One would think that cats would spend more time a day napping, but perhaps Hyunjae should stop thinking of Juyeon as just a cat when he's already fully aware of his true nature.

He'd watched the little furball curl on top of an armchair, easily drifting off, and Hyunjae had even pet it a few times, secretly amazed over the softness of the familiar's fur. For a moment, he even let himself wonder, if he'd ever get to see Juyeon's real form. The human one.

On one hand, he can kind of relate. If he were able to change into an animal, he would spend most of his time as it as well. Being human is tiring. He needs a break.

Alas, as it's already been established, Hyunjae doesn't give a shit about magic so there's no way he'd ever actually turn into a furry little creature. Unless he gets hexed. Knowing his luck, he most probably would. But that probably wouldn't be a nice experience, not under such circumstances.

Okay, now, he's getting off-track. Point is, Juyeon is fast asleep upstairs, Jacob had already left, and Hyunjae is still stuck inside as he begrudgingly throws on Sangyeon's coat because the witch had insisted it's too cold outside for him to walk back home in his current outfit.

As Hyunjae glances out of the potion store, he supposes that he can see Sangyeon's point. It's already dark outside, and if he squints, he can perhaps make out the trees bending slightly under the wind. If Hyunjae were to walk outside, he would inevitably grumble to himself about the stupid ass weather and might even kick a rock to release some of his annoyance. This way, at least, he'd be somewhat protected from the cold.

Not that he appreciates Sangyeon meddling, though.

Fidgeting with the buttons, he sends Sangyeon a glare, but it fails to wipe the smile off the witch's face. On the contrary, Sangyeon looks very satisfied with the turn of events, dragging his gaze up and down Hyunjae's figure as if trying to memorize the way he looks in Sangyeon's coat.

Once, the action would have made Hyunjae's heart flip. Back when he wasn't in denial of his feelings for Sangyeon just yet, he would have loved having all of the other's attention on him; now, he just blushes lightly and looks away, acting as if he doesn't notice Sangyeon's obvious glee.

So, he clears his throat, desperately trying to think of any topic to save him from this awkward moment. He almost lets out a huge, relieved sigh when he remembers exactly what he wanted to ask Sangyeon ever since his first interaction with Juyeon that day.

Raising his head to meet Sangyeon's still very much pleased stare, he prompts, "hey, how is it that Juyeon talks to you even in his feline form yet he won't talk to me?"

The question seems to surprise the other, if only by a bit. His eyebrows raise slightly, as if surprised that Hyunjae even wants to know more about anything magic related, and when he replies, it's just a second late.

"It's not that he doesn't talk to you," Sangyeon counters, lips pulling into an amused smile, "you just don't understand him."

Hyunjae squints, mulling the information over. He's not quite sure whether Sangyeon is being serious or if he's just making fun of him. But then, is Sangyeon the type to do that? For now, he decides to trust him, "so it's just a familiar and their witch kind of thing?"

For a long moment, the other seems to consider the statement, before slowly nodding, "you could say that," he says, his gaze stuck somewhere above Hyunjae as he thinks, "when he speaks to me, I hear him in my mind, simple as that. I don't actually, like, translate through his meowing alone. It's just a part of our bond."

"That's a shame," Hyunjae mutters, "it would've been funnier if you could speak cat language."

The words earn him a delighted laugh. Hyunjae is honestly too tired to pretend like it doesn't make him feel all nice and cozy inside.

Perhaps this is the exact reason that Hyunjae ended up agreeing to Sangyeon's deal; despite having absolutely no interest in Sangyeon's world, he'd entered his potion store and kept an eye out for his familiar, and will probably keep doing so in the foreseeable future, all because he's… that's right, wholly, utterly whipped for a witch. Just his luck.

"I'll be going, then," he states, glancing out the window once more. He really doesn't look forward to his walk back, but at least it won't take too long until he can bury in his lovely, comfortable bed. He already longs for it.

Offering Sangyeon a wave, he walks towards the door, only slightly surprised at the chime of the bell as he opens the door, and he doesn't dare look back, not when he still feels Sangyeon's gaze on him.

"Goodnight. I charmed the coat to keep you warm," he catches Sangyeon's words right before exiting, and it's honestly absurd how fast he feels his ears burn.

**Author's Note:**

> if u like this fic so far, then just saying, i would really appreciate some feedback!!   
>  also, here's my [twt](https://twitter.com/ddonibell)!!


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